The word "blended" seems to be the answer to the uncertainties that are spreading in view of the ever increasing number of communication channels and tools. Everything seems possible. It almost feels like when the word was first launched, when Starbucks liberated Americans from their Regular Coffees and us in Switzerland from Kafi-Crème and launched the first blended coffee varieties. Everything was possible when the coffee revolution began in the early nineties with one of the most sophisticated marketing and branding strategies in recent economic history. It was then that the word first appeared in German usage. Although initially frowned upon by Italophiles, Howard D. Schultz revolutionized coffee drinking worldwide.

It all came down to the right blend. The right blend. Not just for the coffee, but for the entire marketing strategy. No advertising, only internal communication. No compromises, but consistent implementation of the "Third place" strategy (Home. Work. Starbucks.) made the brand the darling of investors. The rapid global growth then also led to a Starbucks being opened on almost every corner of a major city, and wicked tongues even claimed that the Seattle company would also open a Starbucks in an existing Starbucks just to keep the number of stores rising.

But what this global campaign has taught us, along with hundreds of different coffee-related products, is that the word "blended" or "blend" exudes a certain magic. And this is precisely what our industry is looking for right now.

Marketing mix was yesterday - today everything is blended

The translation into German, "Mischung", then became "Mix" thanks to Tom Dickson. Because his "Will it Blend" videos were clicked on over and over again in the agencies in the mid-noughties. In short, they went viral before the word was really known.

But anyone who talks about marketing mix in marketing today is looked at askance, as if he or she had just ordered a Kafi-Crème or put their iPhone in the blender. "Blended" is what it's called now, please! Blended learning, blended marketing, blended communications, blended identities, blended styles - the list can be extended at will and feels like one of those endless orders at Starbucks.

There are no limits to the imagination. Everything can be blended today. Art with fashion, for example. Louis Vuitton is currently engaged in a creative exchange with the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and her Pumpkins. For fashion purists, this used to be as unimaginable as a Pumpkin Spice Latte is for coffee purists. Watch lovers probably thought the same thing before the launch of the Kermit Edition. Dazzle TV series with watch brands? No way? Who knows!

So if you don't want to appear like Waldorf and Statler from the Muppet Show at meetings or simply don't want to serve cold coffee, you can talk about blended. But customers should not be blinded by the zeitgeist (German), because in the end it's what brings success that counts, whatever the mix. Not only in our industry.

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* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.

In the context of the new invitation to tender for a total of 13 licenses for regional broadcasters in Switzerland, the Galledia Group, which includes m&k advertisingweek.ch for the Eastern Switzerland concession. "With our commitment and investment in regional television, we want to make a contribution to media diversity and the democratic process in eastern Switzerland," says Galledia CEO Daniel Ettlinger. With its programming strongly geared to the region and its population, the television station is to become the independent voice in eastern Switzerland. With its license application, "OTV" is competing against TV Ostschweiz, which is owned by CH Media, the joint venture of AZ-Medien and NZZ.

Galledia is an independent media company in eastern Switzerland. In addition to numerous trade and association publications, the media company includes three local daily newspapers in the Rhine Valley of St. Gallen, several online publications, graphic production companies, a marketing agency, two digital and software agencies, and two event agencies. Galledia employs over 400 people and trains around 20 apprentices. For operations, the Eastern Switzerland TV project envisages 31 full-time positions, distributed among 36 people.

Regional solidarity instead of uniformity

"We are at home in eastern Switzerland and want to create a television offering for our neighbors" - this is Galledia's guiding principle for the programming of the future regional Ostschweiz TV. Daniel Ettlinger emphasizes that they don't want to produce a one-size-fits-all approach and bought-in formats, but content that reflects the peculiarities, the regional ties and the understanding of home of the population.

The program line-up begins with the midday news program "Ostschweiz 12 nach 12". From 6 p.m., the almost half-hour flagship program "Ostschweiz Aktuell" starts, followed by the discussion program "Ostschweiz Talk" In the OTV talk show, personalities from eastern Switzerland discuss current events. A new feature is the culture program "Ostschweiz Kultur," which offers viewers an insight into the rich and varied art and culture scene in eastern Switzerland. On Sundays, the program "Ostschweiz Weekend Sport" is the ultimate address for all sports enthusiasts in eastern Switzerland. "With OTV, we are focusing on honest and 100 percent regional television from the cantons of St. Gallen, Thurgau, Appenzell IR and Appenzell AR," explains Ettlinger.

Galledia has also set itself the goal of realizing the first climate-neutral TV station in Switzerland. In order to be able to achieve this, Galledia is launching a project with the 21 research and development institutes of the FH OST specialized in this area, which have joined together to form an interdisciplinary climate cluster.

The Federal Office of Communications Bakom will announce the candidacy on Monday. By the end of the year, the Department of DETEC will then award the new licenses for the period from 2025 to 2034. The licenses for the local radio stations will also be awarded anew.

The publishing house is "currently in financial distress and in urgent need of support," writes Berlin press officer Filip Kolek in a statement Wednesday.

The Crowdfundig campaign is entitled "Too Big To Fail" - with a question mark and an exclamation mark. It applies to a publishing house that is considered a pioneer in the field of comics and graphic novels not only in Switzerland, but also in Germany and Austria. "In 2000, for example, the publisher made a significant contribution to the establishment of comics in the German-speaking world with the German translation of "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, writes Kolek.

Highly decorated

Edition Moderne was founded by David Basler in 1981, and when he retired in 2019, he handed over the publishing house to a team led by graphic designer Julia Marti and graphic designer Claudio Barandun.

2021, the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association SBCV named Edition Moderne Publisher of the Year. The avant-garde had remained, the SBCV justified the award at the time. There were also other awards, such as the German Youth Literature Prize, two Swiss Children's and Young People's Book Prizes, and the City of Zurich's award for special cultural achievements to David Basler.

Rising costs

The new team has given the publishing house a new profile and restructured it. This primarily involved digitizing the back office; in addition, new and younger authors were added to the program.

This transformation takes time and is costly. In addition, production costs have recently "risen rapidly. The publishing team itself cites the high wage costs in Switzerland, the expensive Swiss franc compared to the euro, and inflation as key factors. The 2020 to 2022 financial years could be summarized as follows: "We can report stable sales figures, which almost compensate for even increased production costs, but not the amount of work that was and is necessary for this. (SDA)

Specifically, the goal is to modernize the current design and create a first-class user experience, according to a statement from Ringier. Attention will also be paid to the integration of AI functions - to determine how they can optimize the digital presence.

"At Blick Group, we are constantly working to equip our products for future goals and market requirements," Marco Rüegger, chief product officer of Blick Group, was quoted as saying in the statement. "Code and Theory is a leader in bringing modern media brands into the digital age - and therefore we have great expectations and full confidence in our partnership."

Code and Theory has extensive expertise in the publishing sector. In the past, the agency had redefined the media presence of more than 145 publishers. Among them well-known brands such as BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC or HBO. Recently, it was announced that Code and Theory will build new AI applications on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to enable scalable AI-driven innovation for its clients.

"These are exciting times for all businesses as we grapple with the tidal shift of artificial intelligence, but the opportunities for the media landscape are especially great, and we look forward to shaping the future together," said Dan Gardner, executive chairman of Code and Theory.

More or less on time at 9 a.m. - after a fortifying breakfast with croissants and co. - Screenforce Day started with a surprise show by the LED performance artist crew "The Blackouts". After that, the actual program started, hosted by Wolfram Kons.

The event kicked off with two contributions on the topic of media research. The market research company Link Marketing Services presented the current Screenforce Switzerland research project on "Reach vs. Targeting. The aim of the project is to use a post-campaign questionnaire in cooperation with the Swiss advertising market to create a certain standardization for campaign evaluation. This would provide a basis in the future for deciding when a reach and when a targeting approach delivers the best results.

Second, Mediapulse highlighted why it is important in media usage research to know not only whether and how often media are consumed, but also for how long and exactly when.

This was followed by SevenOne Ad.Factory's flood wine campaign and Axa's "AXA Women's Super League" campaign, two practical examples designed to illustrate the outstanding impact that creative, emotional and authentic purpose marketing and sponsorship can have. In the current m&k extra and at Advertisingweek.ch the cases can be read be

Daurafhin, the audience was given a detailed look into the economic situation and outlook globally and in Switzerland before the official event concluded with an insightful and entertaining presentation on marketing, sales and management brain research followed by a networking dinner.

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Interested parties who were unable to attend Screenforce Day 2023 can visit the Screenforce Switzerland Website View presentations as well as impressions of the event in the coming days. 

The study asked communications executives what data they regularly measure and evaluate as part of their communications work.

Measuring success is an important and much-discussed topic in the industry. As many as 78 percent of communications professionals consider regular measurement of communications measures to be very or somewhat important. Quantitative data is at the top of the list of criteria that PR professionals continuously measure: 63 percent measure the number of publications and mentions, 58 percent regularly measure the reach of their communication measures, and 40 percent determine interaction and engagement. In fourth place is the media equivalent value, which 30 percent of respondents also calculate regularly.

Reputation & image and topic leadership still expandable

When it comes to qualitative data, however, PR professionals are even more reticent, according to the study. The results show that only 28 percent regularly measure tonality: Accordingly, not even one in three evaluates the extent to which reporting is positive, negative or neutral. Only just under one in four respondents considers the environment and context of the publication (24 percent) or evaluates the extent to which the communications work pays off for the reputation and image of the company (23 percent).

Around one-sixth of PR professionals evaluate the ratio of input to output (18 percent), survey the impact of communication measures, for example on sales (17 percent), or measure topic leadership in the media (16 percent). 7 percent of the PR professionals surveyed state that they have not yet measured any data.

Desire for quality recognizable

Nevertheless, the study shows that there is a desire for more qualitative data measurements. For example, over half of the respondents state that ideally they would like to see the factors of reputation and image in first place in regular measurement (59 percent). The criteria of topic leadership and environment and context are also ideally important indicators of the success of their communications measures for over a third (39 percent). A good third also believe that the ratio of input to output (35 percent) and the effect on sales (33 percent) should be measured regularly.

When it comes to the frequency of data evaluation, most companies and agencies conduct a monthly evaluation (39 percent). Quarterly measures 18 percent, and 13 percent measure at weekly intervals. Less frequently, data is evaluated daily (12 percent), semi-annually (8 percent) or annually (6 percent).

The results at a glance

Importance of measuring the success of communication measures

• Very important 40%
• Rather important 38%
• Draw 7%
• Less important 2%
• Not important at all 1%
• Not specified 12%

Regularly measured and evaluated data as part of the communication work

• Number of publications and mentions 63%
• Range 58%
• Interaction and engagement 40%
• Media equivalent value 30%
• Tonality 28%
• Environment and context of publication 24%
• Reputation and Image 23%
• Ratio of input to output 18%
• Effect of communication, for example on sales 17%
• Theme leadership 16%
• No data is measured at our site so far 7%

Most important factors for measurement in communication in the ideal case

• Reputation and image 59%
• Range 55%
• Interaction and engagement 47%
• Number of publications and mentions 44%
• Publication environment and context 39%
• Theme leadership 39%
• Input to output ratio 35%
• Effect of communication, for example on sales 33%
• Tonality 33%
• Media equivalent value 27%
• Do not know 3%

Frequency of measurement and evaluation of data

• Monthly 39%
• Quarterly 18%
• Weekly 13%
• Daily 12%
• Semiannual 8%
• Annual 6%
• Do not know 4%

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The PR Trendmonitor by News Aktuell and Per was conducted as an online survey in February 2023 among 297 communications professionals from companies, organizations and PR agencies in Switzerland and Germany.

Locking oneself out of the hotel room, throwing oneself exuberantly into the waves or playing a round of pétanque with the locals - many have already experienced such or similar scenes while traveling. They are small, special moments that one encounters unexpectedly, but which often become the moments we tell our friends about later. And it is precisely these small adventures that are the secret stars of the latest TV commercial for Swiss.

"When it comes to travel adventures, people - especially in advertising - often think of things like canyoneering, backcountry skiing or winding jungle trails," explains Stefan Vasic, Head of Marketing at Swiss. "That's all well and good, too. But people forget that it's the little adventures - the ones we experience every day - that make travel so valuable. It's the little things that matter. And that's exactly what we're expressing with the new spot."

Cornelia Späth, Head of Marketing Communication Campaigns at Swiss, adds: "The film is the logical and emotional further development of the platform launched last year. By continuing to focus not on the great experiences, but on those moments that bring the most beautiful mental snapshots, we emphasize even more the individuality of travel. And what it means to each and every one of us."

Numerous versions for worldwide use

The film was edited in several variants. Thus, in addition to the classic 30-second TV spot for the home market, there is an equivalent for the foreign markets, which tell little adventures in Switzerland and in foreign countries close to the border.

"In total, a good 35 different little adventures were created and shot," explains David Lübke, creative director at Publicis. "Quite a workload, especially when you consider that many more sequences were shot specifically for use on social media at the same time."

From the 30-second version on TV to the minute-long version on airplanes and online to the YouTube bumper, the little adventures will be seen on all screen sizes and in various combinations.

The film was first broadcast on television in Switzerland on Monday and will be seen globally on numerous other channels.

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Responsible at Swiss: Stefan Vasic (Head of Marketing), Cornelia Späth (Head of Marketing Communication Campaigns), Roman Glauser, Kim Vetter (Project Manager Marketing Communication Campaigns). Responsible at Publicis Zurich: David Lübke (Creative Director), Priska Meyer (Senior Art Director), David Voges (Senior Copywriter) Anatole Comte (Art Director), Sandro Looser (Client Service Director), Freyja Hablitz (Account Director), Matthias Koller (Overall Responsibility). Responsible at Prodigious: Carol Maag (Art Buyer / FFF Producer), Film and Music Production: Shining Film AG, Leonardo Sanfilippo (Executive Producer), Yanik Müller (Senior Producer), Gonzaga Manso (Director / DoP), Alisha-Lou Nader (PA), Bardha Grigioni (Styling), Pascal Holzer (Postproducer), Giacomo Prestinari (Edit), Samuel Muff (Grading), Aimar Molero (Composition/SFX/Mix).

According to its own information, ibW is the largest non-university institution of further education in southeastern Switzerland with over 100 federally recognized educational offerings. The college is responding to the trend toward younger and younger students and wants to position itself on TikTok as a practical and modern institution. The campaign is intended to promote the wide range of continuing education courses and motivate students to actively shape their professional future.

A total of four videos were produced. The two main videos show from a POV perspective how you can give your current job a new career boost with further training or take your skillset to the next level. The first step in doing so is to "Get it done!". Two other videos go into detail about the variety of continuing education opportunities at ibW. The central message here is "Do exactly what you feel!" Because when it comes to choosing a continuing education program, it's your own interests that count, not the opinions of others.

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Customer: ibW University of Applied Sciences Southeastern Switzerland. Responsible Agency: Rob Nicolas.

• Agency Name: Previon Plus AG
• Establishment date: 2013
• Founder: Roger Wernli
• Current agency heads:  Roger Wernli, Thomas Werthmüller, Haris Besic and Claudio Scicchitano
• Number of employees: 18+
• Current customers: (excerpt) Amag,, Swiss Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, EspaceSuisse, Gesundheitsförderung Schweiz, Höhere Fachschule Technik Mittelland, Nidwaldner Kantonalbank, Swiss Red Cross, Spital Bülach, SVA Aargau, S-GE Switzerland Global Enterprise, SVIT Schweiz, Verband Schweizerischer Elektrizitätsunternehmen, Veriset Küchen AG, WAS Wirtschaft Arbeit Soziales...
• Website: Previon.ch

Which project from the past twelve months are you particularly proud of?

There are several examples. We were allowed for Hospital Bülach and a relaunch of its website for Veriset. In both projects, the focus was on directly addressing the target groups and managing them accordingly. The fact that our clients and their customers are satisfied with the results fills us with pride. We are pleased when we can enter into long-term partnerships with our clients and accompany and support them along the entire value chain of digital topics.

 

The most important project in agency history to date - and why?

These days we have won the contract in a major pitch! This involves the creation of a new brand and the development of a comprehensive business ecosystem. In addition, our traditional business and networking event as part of the Digital Days Aarau is a big highlight. On this evening, we invite guests from different industries, departments, functions to join us in Aarau and talk about innovation, transformation and opportunities and possibilities in the context of digialization. In connection with the Open House Day, which takes place a few weeks before, we can invite our customers and interests to exciting talks and discussions.

 

The most unusual place where your creatives retreat to be creative?

Our office is our space operations center and the place where we give free rein to our creativity. In doing so, we make a point of meeting everyone's needs. The agency is divided into two parts, we have a "Work" area and a "Play" part for workshops and creative (team) sessions. Those who need peace and quiet can retreat to the meeting room. Last but not least, we can flexibly rearrange and furnish our premises.

 

What do you do when you have thought blocks?

For thinking blockades we have different punching bags in use. With a few targeted Rocky punches, the blockade is often overcome. But there is also the option of taking a walk in the fresh air in the adjacent Oehlerpark. If that doesn't help either, we have refreshing drinks in the fridge to help.

 

What is your agency philosophy?

Previon generates a "digital impact": disruptive and sustainable at the same time. Our philosophy is to help customers become sustainably better, faster and more present with digitalization. What we do, we do with passion and because we are convinced - it helps the customers. Freely according to the motto: "You gotta break the egg to make an omelet!"

 

Why should talented people definitely come to work for you?

As Previon, we want to make an impact on the career and development of talents and thus give them freedom to develop. We also give them the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them. This is how we challenge and encourage their development. We live our philosophy for the team, within the team and for our customers and partners. Development only comes through independent trial and error.

 

How long do employees stay with you on average?

In today's world, it is not the length of time in the company that is relevant, but the duration of the emotional bond. With us, this is long-term.

 

How old is your youngest employee, and how old is your oldest?

Our youngest Previonaut is 22 years old, the oldest 53 years young.

 

How high are the wages you pay compared to the industry average?

We have introduced an open salary model in which our salaries are transparently displayed according to competence level. Our employees also benefit from other advantages and many team events. A comparison is very difficult, as there are many points that are difficult to take into account, such as location, size, etc. We estimate that we are in the middle of the pack. Taking all criteria into account, we estimate ourselves in the middle.

 

What is the ratio between the best and the worst paid employee?

About 2:3.

 

Pay transparency: Do employees know among themselves who earns how much?

Our model is transparent and comprehensible. Based on experience and length of time with the company, everyone has the opportunity to grow. Furthermore, we have an expectation for all junior positions to advance to the next level within one year. With good performance, this means a relatively large pay increase within a year. The model also allows colleagues to nominate and recommend each other for advancement to the next level. In addition, all employees participate directly in the agency's profits.

 

How much overtime do you work on average per week?

That depends on many factors. Shortly before go-live, we are working passionately and flat out to ensure a successful launch. That means we work overtime. However, there are also certain times of the year when things are rather quiet.

 

What benefits do you offer to compensate your employees for this overtime?

The overtime can be drawn as compensation days. For morale, there are good, fresh drinks and lots of humor during hard times. Our team events also always bring a relaxed mood and fun.

 

How long do you get maternity leave and how long paternity leave?

Maternity and paternity leave at our company corresponds to the statutory maternity protection provisions of 16 weeks and parental leave of two weeks for the father.

 

What are your home office regulations?

Home office is equated with office. Employees have the opportunity to decide for themselves. We have fixed office days where we physically meet and also end the evening together. Cohesion and spirit are still brought to life physically.

 

What is the current quota of women?

Our quota of women has potential and we would like to see more women in positions such as project management, consulting and also in development!

 

Do you employ interns?

Yes, we currently have a trainee in the development department and in June another trainee from IMS Informatikmittelschule will start with us.

 

Do you organize team events?

The Previon year is filled to the brim with events. Once a month we celebrate the Monthly Bash, which every employee has to organize once a year. The theme can be freely chosen by the employee, taking into account two rules: First, it must be something that no one knows. And second, each person must learn something in the process. Then there is Independence Day, when the birth of Previon is celebrated. And Family Day, where the whole family is also invited. Once a year we organize an Open House Day for our customers, partners and potential customers. Furthermore, we are the organizer of the closing event of the Digital Day in Aarau.

 

Do you have an agency dog or other mascot?

Our mascot is an astronaut who greets our visitors in the entrance lobby. The astronaut shares the same values as we do: He is also a team player, is curious, challenges the status quo and strives for impact.

 

Where do you drink your after-work beer?

We drink our after-work beers at our favorite table, which is sometimes also a meeting table and lunch table. Our tradition is Köhler beer from Zofingen.

Some YouTube users are currently confronted with a new pop-up window as soon as they want to access content, such as Android Police reported. It states that users must disable their ad blockers or set YouTube.com as an exception in their ad blocker rules in order to continue watching videos there.

Google goes on the offensive

YouTube confirms this as part of a new experiment that hasn't been rolled out widely yet, but could indicate the app's future direction to combat ad blockers and maximize advertising opportunities. YouTube parent Google is apparently taking a more aggressive approach to ad blockers in its apps with such means.

The corporation has been installing updates to Google Chrome restrictions on ad blocker technologies for years to protect its core ad business. Most of the changes have been reversed by ad blockers so far.

The video platform has long been targeted by ad blocker providers, as few users want to watch two or more ads before a YouTube clip. The rise of Shorts has exacerbated this trend, as YouTube wants to insert ads into the Shorts experience as effectively as possible to maximize the potential for advertisers in this space.

Cushion potential losses

With that in mind, it seems reasonable that Google would want to crack down more on ad blockers in the future. As the group also integrates generative AI into search, which could also impact the ad business, it is understandable that the company also wants to optimize ad presence in other areas to mitigate potential losses and satisfy advertising partners. (pte/swi)

The annually recurring campaign focuses on the distribution of profits to customers. The green bubble, the newly introduced visual element of the new brand territory, becomes a balloon for this occasion. The visual will recur annually in this form and plays with Vaudoise's new visual language.

The new brand identity focuses on an honest, direct tone that is intended to reflect the feelings of the clientele in an unfiltered way.

The campaign will be implemented nationally in OOH, DOOH, POS and digital.

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Responsible at Franz&René: Valérie Pecalvel (Strategic Direction), Luciano Gerber (Client Service Direction), Vincent Eichenberger (Senior Digital Consultant), Gianluca Terzini (Art Director), Eric Kohler (Art Director). Production: Mécanique Générale (3D, Paris). Media: Mindshare.

When an exhibition focuses on two distinguished masters, it is spectacular for the public and a challenge for the poster design. A concept is sought that does justice to the two great names Alberto Giacometti and Salvador Dalí without setting off on false trails.

For the creation of the advertising materials, the designers from Zurich's Binz were inspired by a large-scale installation that illustrates Giacometti and Dalí's idea of a garden conceived as an illusionary and imaginative space, as well as their preference for ambiguous forms and images. A reconstruction of the work will be shown for the first time in Switzerland as part of the exhibition.

The exhibition "Dream Gardens" at the Kunsthaus Zürich runs until the beginning of July.